I just wish their enthusiasm would morph them into real racing fans…or at the very least horse fans in another aspect of the horse industry.
None of these other horses had a history that morphed into a real soap opera. A semi-Beverly Hillbillies story to begin with, a poor but honest horse trainer, an inexpensive mare bred to an equally inexpensive stallion which combined to produce an almost-triple crown winner. Toss in a good helping of the 30% minority partner who was more than willing to talk to just about anybody about himself, his horse, and horse racing, including a post-triple crown rant that sent him and his wife through all the interview shows. Definitely a ++++ 15 minutes of fame moment. Then, when everything should have been nicely calming down, add a trip overseas, a less-than-PR trainer talking when he shouldn’t have been, a very highly publicized (and one-sided) disagreement between the two partners, and you have pure gold.
Now Chrome seems to be on a calmer and more well planned out track. The trainer, who had never been out of the U.S., has more or less recanted his previous statements – and in the process has probably learned a lot about international racing and venues – and the Chromonicity seems to have subsided to a mild roar. All’s right with the world.
BTW, Chromies is spelled with one M, not two.
[QUOTE=roseymare;8549177]
I just wish their enthusiasm would morph them into real racing fans…or at the very least horse fans in another aspect of the horse industry.[/QUOTE]
Besides the humble origins story “Junior” is speshul according to the BCH (aka true fans according to themselves)! Steve said he was “America’s horse” that’s why some of them seem to have latched on to this horse besides his flashy appearance. He loves cookies etc, etc which the Coburns seem to love showing pictures of them feeding to him at every opportunity even after they sold their share. He’s not like other horses. His “true parents” love him like nobody else (but would show up at the opening of an envelope) and only sold their shares to “save” him. They (hard core CC fans) just can’t care about another horse unfortunately because they aren’t CC who is just that much more special than other horses. I don’t get it personally. I don’t think many of these super fans go to or follow the races, some of them admit that racing should be stopped. I just can’t imagine getting that invested in a horse you’ve likely never seen in real life, let alone worked with.
The only horse I’ll really scream at coming down the stretch (as opposed to urging on) is one I’ve actually laid hands on in our stable, but maybe I’m odd that way actually being involved in the business.
BTW, if anyone wants to find religion tonight, our filly is racing at Woodbine tonight and could use all the luck she can get.
[QUOTE=Shammy Davis;8548887]
WISE DAN had a very nice old man as his owner. Also a SUCESSFUL DAN for a brother. What’s not to love about that? Sounds the perfect human interest story to me.[/QUOTE]
Wise Dan didn’t win the Kentucky Derby. For 99% of people who are not interested in horse racing, that means they do not care. Period. I doubt most have heard of Wise Dan and I’d bet solid money I could ask 100 random people even among horse owners and they’d have no idea who Successful Dan is. Outside the racing world literally no one cares and even within it the fact Wise Dan went back to back HOTY is viewed by some as less he was world-beatingly awesome and more they were kind of ‘meh’ years in the big classics.
Mine That Bird had SOME of the crazy, but he had the rotten racing luck to run into Rachel Alexandra when Jackson ponied up an offer they couldn’t refuse in time to toss her in the Preakness. “GIRL!!!” trumps “Feel-good gelding” story.
Chrome is a combo of the Zenyatta fans (you think they’re gone? Read BH article comments every time she or one of her offspring’s mentioned) and the Barbaro utter lunacy. I’ve said before my “I don’t get it” is Barbaro, as even if I ever really believed in the ‘look of eagles’ I didn’t see it and I was ALREADY cynical enough I didn’t believe he was the next Triple Crown winner OMG!!! And once I actually saw the x-rays when they were made public my sympathy for his owners went out the window and I only hope if I’m ever in their position I have the nerve to have the horse quietly put down and not talk about it. It turned an accident into a three-ring circus.
Basically, pretty horse, came from ‘working-class’ lines that were repeatedly emphasized, social media is now really a HUGE thing verging into substituting for ‘real’ media, and of course…he’s still racing. Most Derby winners are not by five these days.
AP is a laid-back plain bay who looks smaller than he is, with extremely wealthy owners who’ve had Derby entrants before, with one of the best-known trainers who’s almost ALWAYS in the Derby mix and came close before. And now he’s retired. And he didn’t suffer any horrible injuries for the weirdos to fixate on. There’s nothing there for them to latch on to.
I have done some research over the past couple of days. The term Chromie or Chromies has a multitude of meanings so that didn’t get me anywhere but after reading a number of articles, like the links below, I concluded that it was the magnetic affect and attraction of people connected to CC. Even if I saw Coburn negatively the other connections made up for him. When Perry Martin took control after first World Cup and last year’s losing races that sterling character of other CC connections held up. They remained excited about CC. There are a great many beautiful and successful race horses so I don’t see it as winning a particular race. SEABISCUIT, KELSO, JOHN HENRY et al never won the Kentucky Derby either and they had major followings. Each great horse worse looking than a plain old brown wrapper.
http://www.drf.com/news/california-chrome-returns-seeks-reclaim-spotlight
Like Roseymare , I wish the phenomenon would translate into more horse racing fans attending meets. But it won’t because the appliances that provide our personal contact are a constant companion. I shouldn’t be surprised at anything any more. The world in my 7 decades has in most cases become unrecognizable to how it began for me. Nice that the horses have continued to stay the same.
The first thing that struck me was the name. I was hooked on the horse and I hadn’t even seen him yet. California Chrome. And then I saw him. Lots of chrome, big, handsome red horse!
Of course non horse people are going to relate. Throw in the soap drama connections and away you go. Mine That Bird had his share of public notoriety. Remember the cam in his stall, the cowboy trainer driving him around the country in a common horse trailer? The general public love that stuff, they can understand it. They don’t understand horse racing, but they can get into the daily life.
And while this kind of attention may not help racing, I believe it is helping thoroughbreds. What happened to Barbaro was terrible, but in the aftermath a lot of knowledge has come out of it.
Always been a sucker for a chestnut with trim, Cali connections, a rough road to success and some human drama when rooting for a race horse. Hence I bet some real dumb money…but I do bet and go to the track.
If I had to pick a favorite meeting those requirements? I’ll take Charismatic, thank you.
Just so glad the silks have been changed w/ the new ownership…
Just go out and support horse Chromies!
Always have been and always will be crazies in the horses. What’s a few more if they bring their checkbooks! 
[QUOTE=ASB Stars;8548474]
I think that it is a combination of the original feel good story that, in reality was not altogether the case, along with the fact that he looked like the second coming of Secretariat, for the unwashed masses. Big, good looking red horse, with four socks, instead of Secretariats three, but you get my point.
AP, for all of his talent, ability and record, isn’t flashy. He was workmanlike and brilliant. Horsemen truly understand his importance, but the public? Notsomuch.
Is CC a great racehorse? I think that the jury is still out. Right now, he is a helluva a horse, who has won some, and made a lot of money, but it remains to be seen if he will be remembered more for his accomplishments on the track, or all of the fanfare.[/QUOTE]
I’m ‘the public,’ and every time I watched AP run, he brought me to my feet in tears. Never happened before or since.
And for the record, I like CC, think he’s a very good horse.
[QUOTE=Matador;8550473]
I’m ‘the public,’ and every time I watched AP run, he brought me to my feet in tears. Never happened before or since.
And for the record, I like CC, think he’s a very good horse.[/QUOTE]
I’m the public too, and Secretariat and Barbaro did it to me- and then, so did AP. But I am the horse owning public, and I think it is different, for us.
See–post has been up one day and up to 31, no, 32 posts. We all love to talk about Chrome!
[QUOTE=Shammy Davis;8549835]
I have done some research over the past couple of days. The term Chromie or Chromies has a multitude of meanings so that didn’t get me anywhere but after reading a number of articles, like the links below, I concluded that it was the magnetic affect and attraction of people connected to CC. Even if I saw Coburn negatively the other connections made up for him. When Perry Martin took control after first World Cup and last year’s losing races that sterling character of other CC connections held up. They remained excited about CC. There are a great many beautiful and successful race horses so I don’t see it as winning a particular race. SEABISCUIT, KELSO, JOHN HENRY et al never won the Kentucky Derby either and they had major followings. Each great horse worse looking than a plain old brown wrapper.
http://www.drf.com/news/california-chrome-returns-seeks-reclaim-spotlight
Like Roseymare , I wish the phenomenon would translate into more horse racing fans attending meets. But it won’t because the appliances that provide our personal contact are a constant companion. I shouldn’t be surprised at anything any more. The world in my 7 decades has in most cases become unrecognizable to how it began for me. Nice that the horses have continued to stay the same.[/QUOTE]
Seabiscuit and Kelso ran in a different era. An era when horse racing was a hugely popular sport. It’s painful to say, but Wise Dan really isn’t in the same league as John Henry.
I’m guessing most horses who pulled in casual fans during the 70s, 80s, and 90s had at least one of the following ingredients: classic winner, TC winner, TC contender, filly who beat the boys, quirky connections, intriguing story (cheaply bought, expensively bought, not well bred, very well bred, raised by a goat in the Himalayas), undefeated/win streak, tragedy. If a horse falls into one of the first 4 categories PLUS any combination of the latter ones? Well, that makes for non-racing media nirvana. PURE GOLD. This seems to hold true for today.
Horses like Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra were girls who beat the boys, and that piques interest and causes the media to go nuts; thus alerting them to casual fans. Also, Rachel beat the Derby winner in the Preakness. In Zenyatta’s case, her come from behind style, “dance moves”, and undefeated record (till that heartbreaking BC loss) added to the allure.
Mine That Bird was a little horse surrounded by eccentrics who won the Derby at 50-1 odds.
Barbaro was beautiful, undefeated, and had an ex-Olympian/hero as a trainer. His tragic breakdown caused a frenzy.
No matter how awesome his trainer/connections were, Wise Dan just didn’t have the credentials for fan craziness. The non-racing media didn’t find his story all that interesting, so neither did the horde. This applies 100x more for Successful Dan.
Dunno, I’m just rambling now.
[QUOTE=betonbill;8550549]
See–post has been up one day and up to 31, no, 32 posts. We all love to talk about Chrome![/QUOTE]
Yeah, I don’t get it. The amount of electrons dedicated to this horse on this board is beyond me.
Shared Belief was 10 times the horse he was, and barely got a whimper.
Hell, when Frankel was in his pomp he didn’t get a 10th of the interest this horse gets, and he was imperious, one of the best we may ever see in our lifetimes.
I don’t get it. It’s almost like it’s not the racehorse that people are interested in.
[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;8550847]
Yeah, I don’t get it. The amount of elctrons on this boars this horse gets is beyond me.
Shared Belief was 10 times the horse he was, and barely got a whimper.
Hell, when Frankel was in his pomp he didn’t get a 10th of the interest this horse gets, and he was imperious, one of the best we may ever see in our lifetimes.
I don’t get it. It’s almost like it’s not the racehorse that people are interested in.[/QUOTE]
Correct.
[QUOTE=harvestmoon;8550784]
No matter how awesome his trainer/connections were, Wise Dan just didn’t have the credentials for fan craziness. The non-racing media didn’t find his story all that interesting, so neither did the horde. This applies 100x more for Successful Dan.
.[/QUOTE]
That’s baloney. The horse racing media was gaga about Wise Dan.
The horse racing media isn’t particularly enamored with CC, interested yes, but not hanging on everything he does. He has long periods where he hasn’t exactly accomplished much. But people on the internet seem to never shut up about him.
[QUOTE=Drvmb1ggl3;8550853]
That’s baloney. The horse racing media was gaga about Wise Dan.
The horse racing media isn’t particularly enamored with CC, interested yes, but not hanging on everything he does. He has long periods where he hasn’t exactly accomplished much. But people on the internet seem to never shut up about him.[/QUOTE]
Huh? I said the NON-RACING media. Of course the racing media loved him. The outside world? Not so much.
[QUOTE=harvestmoon;8550854]
Huh? I said the NON-RACING media. Of course the racing media loved him. The outside world? Not so much.[/QUOTE]
You did. Sorry about that. My failing eyesight and and a couple of tipples of craft whiskey are interfering with my ability to read.
Apologies.
I was personally more interested in Frankel and Black Caviar that I ever was in CC.
I also like a good filly story. I followed this little girl’s career and was always pretty impressed with her even though she only ran in New Mexico. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDXLni_aKYo
[QUOTE=Jenerationx;8550973]
I was personally more interested in Frankel and Black Caviar that I ever was in CC.
I also like a good filly story. I followed this little girl’s career and was always pretty impressed with her even though she only ran in New Mexico. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDXLni_aKYo[/QUOTE]
Yeah! Pepper’s Pride!
(I have read she’s one of the mares slated to visit California Chome next year after he retires)
